Saturday, November 29, 2008

Oh Yeah...Thanksgiving

It's no secret that as far as holidays go, Thanksgiving is not one of my favorites.
We had been spoiled up until the last few years because we always had family to relieve the pressure on me to make it exciting and memorable.
But now it's just us.
Okay by me, but this year my kids (and hubster) were asking for turkey. Eek.
In the past I had gotten by with ham, but this year I took the plunge.
Literally.
This 13 pounder took an overnight "brine" bath in a mixture of salt and sugar water, since, according to Rachel Ray, that would ensure that he would stay nice and juicy.In the meantime, I thought that I would make a new tradition. Thanksgiving morning homemade cinnamon rolls. I had visions of this... But ended up with these...after my sweet husband had to make a quick trip to Albertson's to get more flour when I ran out.
And an hour of letting them rise.
Then jacking up the food processor trying to make the filling.
Then making a huge mess all over my countertops rolling them out.
And then another half hour of letting them rise.
But boy are we in luck - the recipe makes 2 DOZEN PLUS A LOAF OF MONKEY BREAD.
That would be great if they didn't taste like "gross pizza dough with some cinnamon and sugar," as Sierra delicately said as she dumped hers in the trash. Let's just say it wasn't the last one to be thrown away. In fact, most of my hours of love and good intentions ended up at the curb.
Roger said maybe it was a bad recipe. I think maybe I should just stay away from the baking.
On the bright side, the frosting turned out awesome, so now I have a fantastic cream cheese frosting recipe to spread on store bought rolls.But Mr. Turkey turned out dang good. It might have taken 5 hours instead of the recommended 3-3 1/2, but he sure was juicy. Sierra decided it was finally safe to be in the kitchen with me and helped with the butterin'.All the while Daddy entertained the (very) restless starving boys with things found on our front porch.Can you tell who was the "most starving?" "Finally dinner's ready! Who-hoo!"We even lit our first fire we've had in this house. Or in any house since like 2003 (unless this counts).

Nothing cozier than a cracklin' fire, even if it is 70 degrees outside. And we all gathered around it and shared what we were thankful for: the gospel and the opportunity to live with our Savior again, good friends, a home that we love and will raise our children in, our family, "fun stuff at school," "light sabers," and "not having to finish Mom's cinnamon things."